The use of thin layers of metal, gold in particular, dates back to early civilizations such as Egyptian or pre-Columbian America. It was driven by the desire to decorate large surfaces such as images, statuary, or walls, but was limited by the relative scarcity of the metal. Fortunately, its malleabiity allowed the creation of the thin foils that enabled the decoration of those surfaces with gold and its mystical connotations.
The art of gilding, as it was known, continued to evolve in the form of thinner gold foils and eventually into metal alloys that simulated the appearance of gold. Other metal foils became available such as silver, copper, aluminum and various copper alloys. Gilding had begun to move from the realm of the religious, rich and powerful into somewhat more common usage.
However, the use of gilding remained limited by the nature of gilding itself. Typically the metals are in the form of extremely thin (less than 0.001 inch) foils which are very fragile. They are limited in size, 3".times.3" for gold, 5".times.5" for other metals. Because of their extreme thinness and fragility, handling the foils requires specialized techniques and much practice to apply the material to a surface. Large surfaces, such a walls or ceilings, are only occasionally gilded because of the high cost of materials and skilled labor required to apply the metal coatings one piece at a time. There is also a limitation on the types of metals available as foils. For example, titanium, iron, stainless steel, nickel, molybdenum, zinc, etc. do not have the physical characteristics to be made into gilding foils.
The desire for the look of metal has remained constant. There are a variety of methods for applying metals to surfaces in lieu of gilding foils. They have typically been in the form of pigmented coatings made up of metal flakes (powder mixed with organic binder) which are then coated onto a flexible substrate. Other methods used involve foils created by conventional metal rolling techniques or the metallization of polymer film. These are then laminated, using solution-based or hot-melt adhesives, to some kind of carrier web which can be subsequently converted into wall coverings, wrapping paper, ribbon or other decorative surfaces.
The coatings consisting of metallic pigments are not available for subsequent chemical treatments, called patinas, which provide further aesthetic potential. These chemical treatments are often rendered on gilded surfaces or possibly foil laminates because a true metallic surface is available.
There has not heretofore been provided a simple and effective means for creating decorative surfaces by the application of metal coatings to textured flexible substrates.